LAW & DISORDER: Car chase ends with death

By The Times-UnionThe Times-Union,

A three-county pursuit ended with the death of a Lawtey man Monday after the car he was in skidded 300 feet into a tractor-trailer rig police were using to block Florida 121 in southern Baker County, authorities said.

Passenger Belvin McNeal, 52, died at the scene of the 10:50 a.m. crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Driver Stacey Bailey, 24, of Starke was in fair condition at Shands Jacksonville.

The chase started on Florida 100 in Bradford County and raced north through Union County and into Baker County. Once inside Baker, Bailey made a U-turn on the road to avoid deputies who were set up on Florida 121 and ready to pierce her tires.

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Bailey headed south, where minutes later she ran into a Peterbilt tractor-trailer truck a Union County deputy had stopped to block the southbound lane, Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said.

The tractor-trailer, driven by Lusher Williams, 63, of Jacksonville, was southbound when it was ordered to stop, Leeper said.

Leeper said Bailey was going too fast to stop and at times was traveling at more than 120 mph. She and McNeal were not wearing seat belts.

Baker Sheriff Joey Dobson said his deputies agreed to place tire deflators in the road but would not join the pursuit without knowing the reason Union County was chasing the car.

Dana Treen

Boy's threats close streets

Police closed down a grid of streets Monday in downtown Jacksonville when a 12-year-old boy barricaded himself inside his family's apartment and threatened to shoot police, authorities said.

After a four-hour standoff that started about 12:30 p.m., the boy surrendered and was found to be unarmed. SWAT team members fired tear gas into the apartment after the fifth-grader lit a towel on fire and threw it out the window, said Dwain Senterfitt, chief of Sheriff's Office Patrol East. Police evacuated the nearby Centennial Townhouses West apartments on North Broad Street.

Authorities didn't charge the boy with any crimes and took him to a mental health center, according to police and his mother.

Problems started when the boy, who has behavioral problems, argued with his mother about whether he would continue to live with her or his father out of state, police said.

Bridget Murphy

Human skull found in road

A human skull found in the middle of a dirt road in Jacksonville Sunday was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for examination.

Dump-truck driver Steve Allen Wright, 52, told police he was on his way down West Alton Box Road just before noon when he spotted the skull lying between two dogs in the road.

Wright said the skull was not there earlier in the day. Police searched the area but did not find other remains, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Dana Treen

Tree limb injures woman

A large oak tree limb broke off and struck a Jacksonville woman as she walked her dog in her yard Sunday, leaving her with life-threatening injuries.

Jennifer Caldwell, 30, was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital after being hit shortly before 11 p.m. in the 11500 block of Alexis Forest Drive, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

She was in critical condition Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Bridget Murphy

CLAY COUNTY

Man shot at nightclub

A Jacksonville man was critically injured Saturday in a shooting outside an Orange Park club.

The man said he got into an argument with several women about 2 a.m. outside Club Christophers at 1620 Wells Road before one made a phone call and several men ran toward him, the Clay County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

The victim left in his vehicle, but heard three gunshots as he drove off, with one bullet going through his stomach and lodging in his right hip area, authorities said.

Bridget Murphy

Man arrested in shooting

A Middleburg man was arrested Saturday after a woman said he fired two shots at her when she followed him home to confront him about hitting her car minutes earlier.

Jeremy Lee Cope, 24, of Hereford Road was charged with aggravated battery and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.

A Middleburg woman told police her car was sideswiped as she went around a curve on Hereford Road but that the other driver kept on going. She turned around and followed the driver.

When she found the car parked at a house, she yelled that she knew the driver was inside and they needed to exchange information about the accident. When there was no answer, she said she would be back after she notified the Sheriff's Office.

As she pulled away, she heard a shot fired and told her two passengers to get down. She heard a second shot as she continued along, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Cope told police he had fired two shots to scare away some people who were in his yard and threatening him.

Times-Union

ST. JOHNS COUNTY

Metal singer faces charge

The lead singer of the Jacksonville metal band Sentenced 2 Life faces criminal charges after a concertgoer reported being punched in the mouth during a post-concert argument.

An arrest warrant was issued Saturday for singer Jason J. Wielleman, 24, of Jacksonville, according to St. Augustine police.

Wielleman was performing at Fusion Buffet at 3009 North Ponce de Leon Blvd., and the victim was reportedly harassing the wives and girlfriends of band members. Asked to stop, the victim continued the harassment, Officer Len Troscher said.

As the man was leaving, Wielleman approached and the two started arguing, according to a police report. The man was struck in the mouth and suffered a cut lip that required several stitches, police said.

Wielleman left the club before police arrived.

Times-Union

2 injured by angry drivers

Two St. Augustine motorists were assaulted after getting into separate arguments with angry drivers, one man severely enough he was knocked unconscious, according to police.

About 11 p.m. Saturday, St. Augustine Police Officer Kevin Carroll was called about a car crash at King and Charlotte streets and found a man unconscious and another person's vehicle being blocked to prevent the driver from leaving.

Witnesses said the drivers were in an accident and began arguing, at which point one of the men started hitting the other until the 54-year-old victim was unconscious.

Justin F. Brotherton, 22, of St. Augustine was arrested on a battery charge.

Sunday evening, a St. Augustine resident told police she was leaving a parking lot on South Ponce de Leon Boulevard when a sport utility vehicle pulled out in front of her and blocked her way. She told police she honked and drove around the vehicle.

A few minutes later, she stopped at an intersection when the SUV pulled up and one of the two people inside threw a beer bottle at her, striking her on the forehead. She suffered a 2-inch cut, police said.